Family of Tupac Shakur Sues Duane Davis and Others in Wrongful Death Case Over 1996 Shooting

The shooting occurred after Tupac Shakur attended a boxing match. The shooting involved a white Cadillac pulling alongside the BMW and gunfire striking Tupac Shakur four times. Tupac Shakur died six days after the shooting on September 13, 1996, at age 25.

Afeni Shakur, Tupac Shakur's mother, died before 2023. The lawsuit notes that both Mutulu Shakur and Afeni Shakur would have had standing to bring a wrongful death claim, with the right passing to their estates after their deaths. Tupac Shakur sold more than 75 million records worldwide.

The singles 'How Do U Want It' and 'California Love' reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. ' Tupac Shakur had roles in the films Juice, Above The Rim, and Poetic Justice. He arrived on the music scene in the early 1990s as a socially conscious and politically driven rapper.

Shakur evolved into a complex artist who balanced a fiercely defiant gangsta persona with a deeply introspective, emotionally vulnerable side. The complaint states that early probes stalled due to a lack of witness cooperation and limited physical evidence, leaving authorities without arrests for nearly 30 years.

It argues that witnesses were reluctant to cooperate, and some suspects or potential informants died before they could be questioned.

The lawsuit alleges that individuals connected to the case actively obscured the truth, preventing Tupac’s family from identifying those responsible. Only after Davis’s arrest in 2023 and the release of additional evidence did the family have enough information to pursue a broader civil claim, according to the suit.

It seeks punitive damages, alleging the defendants acted with “willful, malicious, and oppressive” intent.

The suit expresses hope that new evidence will finally allow the family to identify and name the individuals who may have participated in the conspiracy. The lawsuit alleges there was a "complex conspiracy" to murder the star. According to the complaint, those sources include testimony suggesting additional individuals may have helped plan, finance or carry out the shooting.

The suit also cites allegations raised in the documentary from former insiders connected to Combs’ record label, claiming they point to possible involvement by high-level figures in the music industry. Davis, a former gang figure long linked to the case, remains the only person criminally charged. Prosecutors allege he orchestrated the attack.

Police alleged he planned the shooting with his nephew, following an altercation with Shakur in a casino. In court, prosecutor Marc DiaGiacomo described Davis as the "on-ground, on-site commander" who "ordered the death" of Shakur. Police said that Davis got the gun from an unnamed associate, and mentioned Davis's "own admissions" to media outlets that he was in the vehicle from which the shots were fired.

They did not state who fired the weapon. The three men who were in the car with Davis at the time of the shooting, including his nephew, have all since died. The complaint argues that conspiracy theories flourished due to the vacuum created by stalled investigations.

Despite decades of investigation, the case went unsolved for years, fueling speculation about gang retaliation and rivalries within the music industry.